Never enough Protein

londonanni · November 2015

Hi everyone,

I never achieve or get close to my protein goal. I don't eat a lot of meat but if I do it seems to take my fat intake up not the protein.
Food I eat often are eggs (1-2 a day), fish such as salmon and mackerel, I drink milk with my porridge. So I'm struggling to find sources of protein. Any tips?

All the best
Annette

janejellyroll · November 2015

Non-meat sources of protein include beans, tofu, tempeh, and seitan. If you aren't eating meat, you may want to try including some of these in your meals regularly.

vivmom2014 · November 2015

Beans, dairy, nuts, seeds, protein bars & shakes. Chicken has almost no fat.

diannethegeek · November 2015

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10260529/most-helpful-posts-food-and-nutrition-must-reads#latest

kshama2001 · November 2015

Fish wouldn't up your fat significantly. Neither would chicken. Anyways, it's fine to go over on fat - it's going over on calories that's problematic.

For omnivores, the easiest way to get more protein is to eat more meat.

Kalikel · November 2015

As above and also soybeans (edamame), which brings other nutrients to the party, as well.

I have serious trouble hitting protein goals and I'm not even trying to eat an inflated amount, just the regular one. The more I work at it, the more I get. So, keep at it and you might be able to eat more of it.

momof3and3 · November 2015

Add in liquid egg whites to your day. I add in 3 eggs worth to my morning oatmeal, make a snack or 2 with scrambled whites, add into smoothies too.

beachhouse758 · November 2015

Turkey breast! Lean and full of protein.
Bison and venison are also very lean and full of protein (albeit harder to find)
2% Greek yogurt (Fage has 23 g of protein per cup)

AnnPT77 · November 2015

Consider reviewing your diary and looking for foods that are (relatively) higher in calories but have no protein. Are there other foods you find similarly tasty and satisfying that have more protein? If so, substitute. It's surprising how a gram or two here, and five there, will add up across the day. This is not a magic, easy solution, but it does help.

I'm talking about things like, for example, substituting quinoa for rice, higher-protein pasta for regular pasta; using seeds or nuts (in reasonable portions) on salads for crunch instead of croutons; pureeing white beans to give body to "cream" soup instead of thickening with starch; eating vegetables that have a few grams of protein (cauliflower, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, more) instead of those that don't; eating something like puppodums or dry-roasted soynuts instead of non-protein salty snacks; etc.

Many of these additions will be lower-quality protein (in terms of essential amino acid complement), but if you mix them diversely it will balance out somewhat.

As a long term (40+ year) vegetarian, I've learned that I need to think like this to get as much protein as I prefer. But it's a strategy that can help meat-eaters get more protein grams, too.

I am *not* advocating eating foods you don't like, BTW. Life's too short.

scolaris · November 2015

You might need to layer your proteins in one meal. For instance, if you have tuna add white beans on the side, add a bread product with some protein, and add a slice of cheese.
I eat Greek yogurt or cottage cheese almost every day for the protein. I add nutritional yeast or peanut butter to recipes for more protein. The Kodiak protein pancake mix is delicious & can be used like bisquick to make other items like scones or muffins.
Finally, I'm not a purist. Some days I whip up a smoothie with frozen banana, greek yogurt, ice cubes and some vega one protein powder. It's not an every day occurance. But it really helps on days when I can see my protein is going to be low.

RodaRose · November 2015

Increase milk and eggs

segacs · November 2015

Can you open your diary so we can offer some more specific advice for you?

Without seeing your diary, here is a bit of generic advice:
1. Review your protein macro goal and make sure it's not set unrealistically high. There are varying schools of thought on how much protein you actually need, and it's worth doing some reading and setting a goal that makes sense for you.
2. Salmon and mackerel are fatty fish. That's okay, 'cause they are full of healthy fats that are good for you. But they do tend to be fairly calorie-dense. Try interspersing some leaner fish, such as tuna, haddock or cod.
3. If you do eat meat, chicken breast is one of the leanest sources of protein.
4. Vegetarian sources of protein include tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans, lentils, eggs, etc.
5. Dairy is also good for protein. In addition to milk, try cheese (lowfat varieties if you're concerned about calories) or Greek yogurt (yum!)
6. Don't stress about it too much. Just focus on staying under your total calorie goals at first, without getting too concerned with tinkering with macros. That will come in time.

Yi5hedr3 · November 2015

Goal probably too high. .8 per pound of LEAN body mass is all you need.

vaguelyvegan · November 2015

I struggle with this, too. Lately I've been really focusing on getting more protein in my diet, mainly by making sure to get at least a little bit with every meal. I'm experimenting now with substituting a serving of almonds with my sandwiches instead of chips (man, I love salty foods!) and having protein-packed smoothies to snack on instead of plain fruit. This is in addition to the usual suspects: pureed white beans in place of the cream in soups and stews, lentils in salad, etc. Still, it's hard to get enough while operating at a deficit. I'm almost to my goal weight, so I'll have more calories to work with soon.

SarahTheEntwife · November 2015

This thread is really useful! My doctor had me start tracking food more thoroughly and while I'm possibly just plain not getting enough food, it turns out I'm definitely not getting enough protein for the amount of exercise I do. Vegetarian protein options tend to be high in either fat (eggs, dairy, nuts) or fiber (beans, nuts), which are very filling and so I suspect I'm feeling full before I've actually gotten enough food.

RobinC37 · November 2015

I eat skyr, which is like greek yogurt but has more protein and less sugar (at least Siggi's brand does). I usually mix in some oats and maybe peanut butter to up the protein and fiber. I wish I had more suggestions, but I often struggle to get enough protein, too, so this has been helpful to read!

AnnPT77 · November 2015

vaguelyvegan wrote: »

I'm experimenting now with substituting a serving of almonds with my sandwiches instead of chips (man, I love salty foods!).

Consider Indian puppodums (Indian/asian groceries, or order something like Sharwoods Puppodums on Amazon (or elsewhere) - flat, tortilla-sized disks that you can microwave, which makes them wrinkle up and puff slightly. Sharwood's spicy, you get 4 for 80 calories, 6g of protein (they're made mostly with chickpea flour). Very salty. If you don't like spicy, try the plain ones. The brands from Indian/Asian groceries seem to come in lots of flavors, but it's not always easy to get the calorie/protein info.

Other options (I'll note specific based on brands I have, but of course there are other brands):

Baked pea-pod snacks. Peeled Snacks Peas Please bran: 1oz serving, 130 calories, 5 gm protein. Salty & flavored.
Crunchy chickpeas. Saffron Road Bombay Spice: 1oz serving, 122 calories, 6g protein. Salty & spicy. (These come in other flavors, or you can make your own.)
Salted, roasted soybeans. R.T.'s Rabble Roasters with sea salt: 1/4C/1oz serving, 120 calories, 11gm protein. (They come in other flavors.)

steuartcj · November 2015

Protein powders 25-30 grams of protein for only 140-155 calories. Most are low carb and low fat. Many good flavors. Use for inbetween meal snacks. Two a day will add 50-60 grams of extra protein. Don't get the ready made shakes as most have lots of carbs and sugar. Some even use them in their morning cup of coffee.

Josalinn · November 2015

so i posted on another person's post the following three meals. The idea is pick a protein and pick a veg.

successgal1 · November 2015

Jerky

Never enough Protein

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